sorry... but 5 years?! wow! My daughter is 5 years old. I'm still taking it day by day. I'm so proud I'm gone this long With dd I gave up after just a week or so.
Well, my son Aidan is 15 months & still going stonng with his "bubbies". I nursed my daughter Layla-Imani until she was 2 (though she kept creeping into our bed at night & sneaking a few sips for about another year after that )
I think that I might let Aidan self-wean since I had my tubes tied & this is the last time I'll be able to experience this, so, much to my mother-in-laws dismay ("Is he on your boob again?" ) I've probably got another year & a half to go.
My MIL was visibly a bit shocked by me nursing my 18-month-old daughter while 19 weeks pregnant with daughter #2, but I think I scared her too much for her to say anything! I was honestly tickled by the weird looks I used to get trying to contain this gangly 2-and-a-half-year-old in my lap so she could nurse. I thought she was never going to wean, but when I finally told her she had to stop, she was OK with it. The World Health Organization calls for three years of breastfeeding, which I honestly think is more important in developing countries (sometimes this is the only source of immunities a child has access to!).
I plan on letting Taryn self-wean as well. I don't think it's going to go over well with my family; everyone FF, and can't even imagine a toddler nursing. So I guess we're in for a long road, but I'm trying to prepare them now. She's only 4 months, so we have time. Of course, these are the same people who tell me I'm spoiling her by holding her all the time (my strange girl HATED the sling), and freak because we co-sleep. I just tell them, she'll probably stop by the time she's 12. Which, BTW, doesn't get any laughs. Hehe.
My side of the family has been really supportive (my mommy STILL tears up when she sees me nursing Aidan). It's my hb & in-laws that seem to be the troublemakers. My hb will often say in a half-joking manner "Hey, dude, get off of my wife!". Yet, he was perfectly happy with Layla nursing well after her 2nd birthday.
Have you ladies also experienced sexism when it somes to how long it's considered socially acceptabke to nurse your little ones?
I only have girls, so it hasn't been an issue for me, thankfully. I'll tell you though, I've already had more than enough of all the "hopefully you'll have a boy this time" comments. But I was tired of that particular bit of sexism when my husband started talking about trying again for a boy less than an hour after I had gotten out of recovery (c-section) with my younger daughter. He still hasn't lived that one down.
Taryn'sMommy, I've had similar fun with relatives over my, er, less mainstream parenting choices. Nothing phases my mother, 'cause she was reading Mothering back in the '70s, but my poor hubby got an earful from his mom when he made the mistake of telling her we're planning a homebirth with this one. (Her devotion to modern obstetrics is complete, even though they almost *accidentally* gave her an abortion when pregnant with Rob.) And I about fell over laughing when a cousin's wife started flipping out on me about how I'd ruin my marriage if I let my daughter so much as sleep in the same room as us, much less the same bed. I should probably not find it as amusing as I do...
(Edited to add: I don't mean to bring up the World's Most Controversial Topic, but my MIL did indeed almost have an unwitting abortion when pregnant with my husband, and I think no matter which side of the debate you fall on you can agree that's not a good thing.)
Last edited by GreatBigMonsterMomma; 06-14-2005 at 06:40 AM.
My 1st wasn't breastfed at all. I was young and uneducated. My 2nd was nursed till she self weaned at a week past her 2nd birthday. I was pregnant with #3 at the time so that probably played a part in it. I'm nursing my 3rd right now and he's 10 months old. I'll let him self wean as well. He is food intolerances (wheat, dairy, citrus, and onion) so he is limited on what solids he can eat. He may nurse longer because of his food issues.
I am a strong believer in child-led weaning and I am stil nursing my 17 month old on demand. I have let all 4 of my children self wean and plan on doning the same with this one.
mama2aredhead-
I just had to comment that I love your screen name since I am a mama to a red head, too! I've noticed it before but I forget to tell you.
Hello
I wanted to bf my daughter (now 15 y/o) but my mom refused to let me bf. You see I was 15 y/o when she was born so she had (what I thought was wisdom) the authority over me plus she told me "Women that bf are doing it to get their kicks" Whatever, I still regret not doing it.
When my husband and I found out I was pregnant with my son (now 11 mo),I told him I wanted to bf. He was and still is very supportive. My mom is still getting used to seeing me doing it but she is starting to come around. She actually said that if she had known the benefits of bf she wished she could have done it. WOW
As for weaning my son... I am choosing to self wean but currently I have set my limit to 2 year. But it could change.
Eh, don't feel bad for being told not to when you were younger. My aunt...dear Lord, my aunt...told one of her daughters her breasts weren't big enough to nurse, told the other hers were too big--this from a woman who nursed four out of five of her kids! She even told me not to try to breastfeed in bed because I'd surely suffocate my kid with my breasts. I was able to keep from laughing...
5 years?! wow! My daughter is 5 years old. I'm still taking it day by day. I'm so proud I'm gone this long 
With dd I gave up 
after just a week or so.
i trying to break her, but iam not sure how , any idea's
) I've probably got another year & a half to go.
He still hasn't lived that one down. 
She even told me not to try to breastfeed in bed because I'd surely suffocate my kid with my breasts. I was able to keep from laughing...
